MADISON – Senator Eric Wimberger (R-Oconto) issued the following statement after releasing new data showing a significant growth of staff across the entire University of Wisconsin System, despite a decline in its total number of enrolled students, over the past ten years:
“In the last 10 years, the UW System has lost some 16,000 enrolled students, but added thousands of non-classroom employees whose salaries cost hundreds of millions of dollars per year. While the Universities of Wisconsin do a lot of good for our state, they have lost their way and are mired in breathtaking administrative bloat, wasteful spending, and discriminatory practices under the guise of DEI.
This data shows UW continues to protect its own bureaucracy at the expense of students. The challenge for Wisconsin remains cutting its bureaucracy and investing in the programs that best provide for our modern workforce, such as engineering and nursing degrees. As the Audit Committee co-chair, I recognize that waste and bloat are inherent in bureaucracies. UW’s future rests on its ability to provide more value to our students and our state, and I trust that Republicans will find a way in this budget to help UW get back on track and do the job Wisconsinites need them to do.”
The new data released by Senator Wimberger shows considerable staffing growth at the UW System over the last decade, despite a decrease in the number of enrolled students. From 2014 to 2024, the number of academic staff grew by 33.4%, with a 97.4% increase in salary expenditures over that time. Similarly, the number of limited appointees – specially-appointed staff who serve in administrative capacities – rose by 39% over the same period, with their payroll expenses growing by 78.3%.
The UW System operates with $7.0 billion in revenues, according to the Legislative Audit Bureau, and recently requested an $855 million funding increase over the next two years from the Legislature.
